Being Internly: Lessons from Liberty States Fiction Writers' Conference, Part III

I'm struggling to stay awake right now, which is never a good thing when you're at work, so I decided to start writing this entry in hopes it would perk me up. Here are the last nuggets of wisdom from the Liberty States Fiction Writers' Conference, these carefully mined at the Agents panel.

Things You Should Know from the Agents Panel

Panelists: Marisa Corvisiero (Corvisiero Agency), Louise Fury (L. Perkins Agency), Brittany Howard (Corvisiero Agency), Marie Lamba (Jennifer Dechiara Agency), Lori Perkins (L. Perkins Agency), and Eric Ruben (The Eric Ruben Agency). 

1) Good agents can spot a hole in the market and will look for something to fill it. On her website, my boss lists general categories she's looking for, but, in reality, her wishlist is a lot more specific. At the panel, women's fiction was mentioned several times, but specifically, (and I'm paraphrasing a bit) something like Gone with the Wind, albeit shorter and more modern. No chick-lit or books with recipes. Also mentioned were LGBT books that featured established relationships. No coming-out stories. Brittany Howard said she wanted a 'literary-feeling' middle grade manuscript. No so-called 'portal' adventures. I realize all of this may sound as clear as mud, but basically, it goes back to what I've said before. They don't want manuscripts that feature trends that are hot right now; they want trends that will be hot two years from now. 

2) Agents are your business partners, not your friends. Louise Fury spoke quite passionately on this topic and many of the other panelists were nodding. Agents are there to help you make money. They are there to help you produce the most marketable book possible and to make sure you get the best contract available.  They are not there to hold your hand when you've had a rough day. That's what your emotional support system is for. They are not there to read every single draft of your book and make suggestions. That's what your beta readers and critique partners are for. I'm not saying you and your agent won't be friendly, but think about this: an agent could have twenty clients. If they spent an hour every day, simply listening to ten of those clients, that's the entire workday shot to hell. When are they going to have time to sell your book or negotiate on your behalf? So when you're tempted to call or email your agent, ask yourself, is this important enough that I'd rather they take the time to read it and reply than do something else on my behalf? 

3) Be patient. An agent may offer you representation on a quick turnaround, but that's probably because they see potential in you and don't want to risk losing you to someone else. That doesn't mean they're going to immediately start sending out your manuscript. Chances are you're going to need to revise or edit before your agent thinks it's submission-ready. Also, once you go on submission, it could still be a while before your book gets sold, if it ever does. Getting an agent is a vote of confidence in your talent and an important step forward, but there's still a lot of work to come. 

4) Ask questions and pay attention to the answers. If an agent offers you rep, be excited, but still be smart. Have a conversation about where you both see your career going, your manuscripts, money, expectations, everything. Make sure the agent is a person you can trust to look out for you, someone to whom you can entrust your manuscripts and reputation. Email a few of their clients and ask politely how they  like working with the agent in question. This is the equivalent of checking references after a job interview. If the agent has a problem with you talking to their clients, then that's a red flag. A good agent will also give you time to contact any other agents who have your manuscript so you can see if anyone else is interested. My boss typically gives prospective clients a week from when she offers rep. Even if the author knows my boss is their dream agent and wants to sign immediately, she still makes them take the week. This is a business relationship and it's best if everyone signs the contract confident that this is the best decision. 

5) Talk to your agent before you talk to the internet. I forget the exact question the moderator asked, but it was something about what do authors do that you wish they wouldn't. I think it was meant to be about pitches or querying, but one of the agents (Eric Ruben, I think) said that if authors have an issue, they should ask their agent about it before complaining online. There were no specific examples given, but what they meant was, if you're worried submission is taking too long, think your contract is nuts, worried about your publisher giving you the runaround, anything like that, talk to your agent before you vent on Twitter or your blog. 

Bonus Wisdom from me: Interns and assistants do more than you think. The agent will always make the final decision, but the better the intern, the more weight their opinion is going to carry. In addition, interns often operate like scouts. You may be tracking every move an agent makes from across the room, but their intern may be sitting right next to you. When you attend industry events, network as much as you can and be polite & professional to everyone you meet. My badge might say reader or librarian, but that doesn't mean I can't ask for your card and tell my boss about you later on. Polite and professional, m'kay?

Being Internly: Lessons from Liberty States Fiction Writers' Conference, Part II

I would celebrate posting two weeks in a row except I'm writing them both on the same day and I should be doing client edits right now. Eeeee. Let's move on, shall we? Bits of wisdom from the Liberty States Fiction Writers' Conference, this time from the Editors panel.

Things You Should Know from the Editors Panel

Panelists: Jillian Bell (Ellora's Cave), Shannon Criss (Harlequin), Toni Plummer (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's), Bob Podrasky (AudioGo), and Michelle Richter (St. Martin's)

1) They really prefer you have an agent. The exception here was Ellora's Cave since they are an e-pub that basically offers the same contract to everyone. Shannon Criss from Harlequin talked a lot about the different ways you can submit to the publisher, agent or not, but I definitely got the feeling that the majority prefers to deal with agent for business matters rather than the authors themselves. It helps keep the relationships separate because when you're dealing with an editor in an editorial capacity, it's more of a symbiotic relationship. However, in a business capacity, that editor's now going to be looking to get the best deal possible, which may not be the best deal for the author. I'm not suggesting they're going to be unethical or try to screw you; they're simply looking out for their own interests. An agent can be all aggressive on your behalf and your editor can play hardball with them, but keeping you out of it means your relationship with your editor remains healthy.

2) Unsolicited means do not send anything that hasn't been requested. At all. Someone asked this question at the end of the panel and I was a little surprised about that, so I thought I'd cover it here. If you see in Writer's Market or on someone's website 'closed to unsolicited submissions,' that really means 'If you send me a query/manuscript, I'm going to have an intern look at it to make sure that it's not something actually important and then reject it/delete it.' Even if they are open to submissions, unsolicited materials rank at the very bottom of the 'look at' list. One of the St. Martin's editors (I can't remember if it was Toni Plummer or Michelle Richter) basically described the hierarchy like Authors Already Under Contract -> Agent Submissions -> Conference Submissions (solicited) -> Other Solicited Submissions (contests, twitter, etc.) -> Unsolicited. This is yet another reason to attend as many pitch sessions as you can, online or in person, and more confirmation about why it's important to get an agent.

3) Don't call us, we'll call you. I know it's hard being patient when you're waiting for an editor/agent to make a decision, but the entire panel cautioned against aggressively following up on a submission. Shannon related an anecdote about a manuscript she'd been excited to read until the author started calling her every day to see if she'd read it yet. Now, not only does she have no desire to work with the author, she no longer wants to read the manuscript. My advice would be to find out what their time frame is and give them a gentle nudge two weeks past that. For example, Shannon says Harlequin's policy is to respond within 90 days. So if you submitted to Harlequin on April 1st, I would politely nudge on July 15th.  Above all, be professional, folks.

4) A good manuscript will always trump the economy. Times are tough all around, but according to the editor panel, it hasn't stopped them from buying books by debut authors.  Sure, they might do smaller print-runs or only buy the first two books of a series, but if they love your book, they'll still go for it. A wonderfully entertaining, beautifully crafted, story will always find its way if you are persistent enough.

5) Do your research. All of the editors complained about receiving submissions that don't fit their categories. Jillian Bell made a point of saying, no, Ellora's Cave doesn't publish picture books. Even a rudimentary glance at Ellora's website reveals its 18-and-over content. Shannon also mentioned that her last name is frequently misspelled on submissions (I feel I should point out that both Shannon's and Bob Podrasky's names were misspelled on the conference website). It wasn't specifically mentioned during the panel, but if you are un-agented, you should definitely do research on the companies themselves, especially the smaller e-pubs. A company may be "actively acquiring" dozens of manuscripts, but how are they getting all of those manuscripts edited? Who's doing the marketing?  Which online stores are going to offer the book for sale? Do your research.


I also want to mention that Bob gave a pitch for Man in the Empty Suit that basically had the entire room salivating for the book. It sounded so good, I was surprised at the low GoodReads ranking. This is the power of a pitch that highlights the unique, people. I'm off to go do those edits, but, hopefully Part III (the Agents Panel) will be up next Sunday.

Being Internly: Lessons from Liberty States Fiction Writers' Conference, Part I

I got to shadow my boss at the conference and we're waiting for the pitch sessions to begin when she looks at me sideways, saying "You can write about this, you know. Your blog has been a little...slow lately."

She wasn't wrong. Sorry, guys! Between my personal life and the internship, things have been absolutely crazy. So let's just get right to it, yeah? 

Things I Learned from the Pitch Sessions that You Should Know

1) Bring business cards to your pitch sessions.  Agent Boss used them to keep track of what she requested from an author. Since we both have smartphones, we were also checking out twitter feeds and websites while still at the conference. The cards don't have to be fancy, but you want to have something so you can give the agent a tangible reminder of who you are. Please note that does not include resumes or manuscript pages. If the agent asks you for a hard-copy something, that's one thing, but don't offer anything except a card or maybe a bookmark. 

2) The more prepared you are, the better you look. One author had Googled my boss beforehand and checked out her other clients. So when the author was enthusiastic, it felt like they knew what they were getting into and still couldn't wait. Agent Boss was so in love with this author, she tracked them down again later, and the author handed her a freaking press kit that had sample chapters in it. We actually found a quiet room, sat down, and read the chapters right away. Agent Boss offered representation two hours later. Don't get me wrong, the author had talent, but they were clearly dedicated to making a career out of this and that's very attractive to an agent. 

3) Be ready to go off-script AND you're also pitching yourself.  As soon as the authors sat down, my boss began to pepper them with questions. It wasn't just about the book the author was pitching, it was about the authors themselves. How well did they click with Agent Boss? How did they handle themselves when thrown off-guard? How passionate were they? How well did they answer some questions? Don't get me wrong, if Agent Boss really likes you, but your book is not up to par, she's not going to offer you representation. However, if she's on the fence about the book, but she remembers that you were awesome, well, that's a factor too. 

4) Highlight the unique AND know your genre. One author led with a really unique twist, which made us sit up a little straighter, before going on to describe, basically, the plot to Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Magaret Stohl. Y'know, the hugely popular series, the first book of which was recently made into a movie. I just sat there and thought of all the ways the author could have used that unique twist to create an unique book. One of the things I've learned from this job is that authors will individually come up with the same plot more often than you'd think. So know your genre and, at the very least, try to avoid pitching your book so that it sounds exactly like something that's already been published. 

5) Agents are defensively polite. Agents usually stay for the majority of the conference and the last thing they want to deal with is an upset person. So if you pitch to an agent at a pitch session, they will probably request three chapters, just to be polite. This is good news for you because it means you still have a shot, even if you think you've bombed your pitch. If they request more than that, then they really liked it.  It's natural to be nervous when pitching because you're putting yourself out there, but relax! The agent is going to be polite and professional, and if they're not, then that's likely not an agent you want to have anyway. 

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to cover the editor and agent panels separately, so check back next Sunday to find out. As always, if you have any questions, leave them in the comments. 

Incoming!: RWA 2012

So, my plane for RWA and Anaheim leaves 29 days from today. I am beginning to freak out. You wouldn't think it would be that big of a deal because it's not like I have anything riding on this. I'm not trying to make a sale. My career doesn't rest on making a connection with an agent or an editor. Indeed, aside from attending Librarians' Day on Wednesday, most of my time will be spent at Disneyland.

I think what I'm really worried about is missing something. I haven't been to Disneyland since I was ten and a lot of new things have opened. We are big Disney people so I'm also excited about having the chance to pick up some Disneyland-exclusive merchandise. The summer is the busy season for Disney, of course, so there's a lot of strategy involved to make sure I hit all the important stuff: Cars Land, the Little Mermaid ride, World of Color, the Storybook Canal, etc. My best friend who moved back to CA last October is driving over to join us on Saturday and she's asked me to pick up some things she can't get there (i.e. Dunkin' Doughnuts coffee).

I've been invited to a publisher party and I'm a little apprehensive. What do I say? What do I do? What should I wear? My tentative plan at the moment is to try to hook up with an author I know who's with that house and try to hang out with her. While I don't have a book to sell, I would like to try to network a bit. My future career plans are kinda nebulous, but I definitely want to stay in the book field. Whether that means staying in libraries, jumping to publishing (most likely an editor-type position), or, maybe, thanks to a shiny new internship, trying out agent-hood, I don't know. Therefore, it's important for me to go against type and try to talk to as many people I can. There are going to be a LOT of people in the romance business in a mile and this is a great opportunity. No pressure, right?

Money is also a factor. I'm definitely doing the literacy signing, but the question is how much I can afford to spend. My usual strategy is to go through the author list and figure out which signed book I want the most. I'm also thinking about doing an autograph book. Some bloggers will bring canvas tote bags and have authors sign the bag, then do a giveaway on their blogs. Authors are usually just thrilled that someone knows who they are. It's definitely true that the romance genre is one of the best communities to be a part of.  I can count on one hand the number of people who treated me poorly in one capacity or another. So you wouldn't think I'd be too nervous.

EXCEPT I TOTALLY AM!